


tied up like two ships

by icecreamandlarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, cameo of ziam, dont worry about eleanor, i think i mentioned niall, she's the waitress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-24
Updated: 2014-01-24
Packaged: 2018-01-09 21:24:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1150948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icecreamandlarry/pseuds/icecreamandlarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is stressed with his classes and Louis takes him on a not-so-spontaneous date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tied up like two ships

**Author's Note:**

> This work is for Maggie, if she ever happens to find it.
> 
> The title obviously comes from the song Strong by One Direction.

* * *

 

Harry looks down at his textbook, the words not even coherent anymore, considering the fact that he was now on hour five of studying.

 

“I can’t take it anymore!” He shouts, slamming the book closed and tossing it on the other side of the room, knowing that he’ll be picking it up later, but doing it anyway because it feels good.

 

Louis comes in not long after, two mugs of tea in hand. “You stressed, love?” The older boy asks, setting one of the mugs down by Harry on his desk before plopping on the floor beside him.

 

“This class is bullshit,” he mumbles, sending a grateful smile to his boyfriend anyway, as he picks up the tea. “Her instructions are so confusing and- god, why did I think that online classes would be a good idea?”

 

“I believe that your exact words were ‘I can do my work naked and no one will know the difference’,” Louis reminds him carefully, reaching up to stroke at Harry’s knee.

 

Harry sighs, frustrated tears pricking his eyes. “You don’t understand. I have to write this fucking paper and I don’t even know what the hell it’s on and it’s due in like three days and I can’t-“

 

“Babe,” Louis cuts him off, standing up briefly before plopping down on his lap. “Why don’t we go out tonight, take your mind off things. Then we can work on it in the morning. Does that sound okay?”

 

Harry nods jerkily, running a hand through his hair. “What are we gonna do?”

 

Louis seems to think for a moment, taking his time as he presses kisses into Harry’s neck and across his shoulders. “How about we go on that date? We’ve been talking about it for ages. Nice dinner, the whole lot.”

 

“What does this ‘whole lot’ entail?” Harry asks, his stress already slipping away with each of Louis’ kisses.

 

Louis turns in his arms, shifting so that he can straddle Harry’s hips. “Hmm, I don’t know…” he trails off wistfully, pulling gently at one of Harry’s curls. “But if you can get dressed and ready to go in five minutes, I’ll blow you when we get home.” Louis leans forward and connects their lips, Harry can feel him smile as he opens his mouth immediately, tongue sliding against Louis’ in the way that Harry absolutely _loves_. He reaches up, pulling at Louis’ shoulders to bring him closer, biting at his lips, demanding more.

 

“You’re down to four minutes and thirty seconds,” Louis warns, giggling cutely when Harry jerked away.

 

“You didn’t tell me that that was part of my time!” He runs over the the closet, digging through his piles of clothes until he finds something to throw on.

 

“Make sure you dress nice, I’m taking you some place good,” Louis tells him as he makes his way out the door, presumably to make a reservation.

 

~*~

 

Harry came stumbling out of their room, just as Louis started counting backwards from thirty, grabbing his keys and Louis on the way out the door.

 

“So where am I going?” Harry asks, pulling out of the parking lot for his apartment and taking a left so that they're heading into town.

 

“I’ll give you the directions, I want it to be a surprise,” Louis tells him, grinning from the passenger seat.

 

So Harry keeps driving, turning when Louis asks him to (‘turn here you numbnut’ ‘no, not here, this is very obviously an abandoned factory’) until they reach their destination.

 

“We’re going to The Dorchester?” Harry asks, shock written into every one of his features. “No, Lou, we can go somewhere else. This place is too much.”

 

Louis shakes his head, “Nope. Only the best for you.”

 

Harry turns to look at his boyfriend, not caring one bit that he’s holding up the valet line. _This place has a fucking valet._ “This is more than the best, babe. Have you seen the ratings for this place?” Louis shakes his head, because, no, of course he doesn’t do his homework about these things. “The chef here has more stars that Gordon Ramsey,” Harry informs him, finally unlatching his seatbelt.

 

“That’s the guy who has the show? Where he yells at people?”

 

Harry laughs, shaking his head as he comes around the side of the car to open the door for Louis. “Hey!” Louis smacks his arm as he hops down from Harry’s Range Rover (it was an eighteenth birthday gift from Harry's very kind- very rich- family. “I’m the one taking _you_ out, I should open the doors.”

 

Harry just smiles, pecking his lips quickly before walking them around the car and warily handing his keys to the valet. “Thank you sir,” the valet man says, hopping into the front seat a little too eagerly for Harry’s taste.

 

“It’s fine,” Louis murmurs, and yeah. Sometimes Harry forgets that his boyfriend can read him like a book. “Now let’s go before they give up our table.”

 

Harry looks at him as he thinks of something. “How did you even get a table so quickly? You have to make reservations like, _months_ in advance for this place.”

 

Louis shrugs and smiles like he's the only one in on the joke as he pushes through the wide double doors, leading into the most posh waiting area Harry had ever seen in his life.

 

“Name, please?” The hostess asks politely, carefully running her finger down the reservation list as Louis mumbles ‘Tomlinson’ curtly.

 

“It’ll be just a few moments, can I offer you anything to drink while you wait? Water? Wine?”

 

“Water’s fine,” Louis says, smiling up at Harry to make sure that it was okay. Harry nods distantly, too busy taking in the décor of the wide hallway that they're in.

 

There are green couches and chairs lined up and down the middle of the hall, people scattered about them, some sipping on glasses of wine, others with water.

 

The marble floors shine and when Harry glances down, he's not at all surprised to see his reflection. The entire room has a gold shine to it, including the pairs of pillars on the outside edges, repeating themselves every few feet. Green plants sit on either side of the pillars, contrasting nicely with the grassy color of the couches.

 

“You’re drooling,” Louis whispers, standing on his tiptoes to press his mouth against Harry’s ear.

 

Harry shakes his head, trying to clear his muddled brain. Everything here just screams  _classy_ and Harry suddenly feels extremely underdressed in his black chinos and white button-up. This place is worthy of a three-piece fucking _suit_.

 

Louis leads him over to a couch in the middle of the room, guiding Harry to sit down before seating himself right beside him. Such a gentleman. “Are you just going to stare the whole time or what?” Louis doesn’t sound nearly as agitated as he's obviously trying to be, it's more of a fond exasperation- as it usually was when it came to Harry.

 

Harry takes a sip of his water, unsure of when it was placed in his hand. “Is it just me or is this water fizzy?” He mumble-asks Louis when he swallows.

 

“Sparkling was the only option they had,” Louis whispers back apologetically. “I don’t think that they do the whole ‘tap-water’ thing here.”

 

Harry lets out a bark of laughter, slapping a hand over his mouth when he startles a couple seated on the couch facing them. “Oh my god, I’m sorry!” He whisper-shouts over to them before they go back to their own conversation.

 

“I swear to god,” Louis mumbles, sounding not the least bit perturbed. “I can’t take you anywhere, Styles.”

 

Harry grins at his boyfriend mischievously before leaning away a bit so that he's closer to the couple across from them. “I’m not in trouble, am I?” He pitches his voice lower, but not low enough that they couple can’t hear him. “You aren’t-“ he sucks in a harsh breath, playing it up a bit as his mouth drops open obscenely. “You aren’t going to use th- the cuffs again are you? You know how much they _hurt_ me.” The couple beside him look absolutely appalled, staring at Harry with their mouths agape. Harry turns to them, speaking before they can turn away. “Do you mind?”

 

The couple stand up, moving back towards the hostess, hopefully not reporting them for public indecency or something. (It wouldn't be the first time and probably won't be the last.)

 

“If you get us kicked out of here, I swear-“ Louis’ threat is interrupted as the hostess clicks her way towards them with a cheerful smile.

 

“Hi, your table is ready now. The couple over there asked to change times with you, so- if that’s okay…?” She trails off, walking towards the dining room with a confident stride. Harry turns back to the couple to throw a wink over his shoulder. When they get to the table, Harry pulls out Louis' chair and then seats himself, looking absolutely ecstatic. “Your waitress will be right with you,” the hostess informs them, placing two thick menus on the table in front of them.

 

“Thank you,” Louis smiles, nodding at the girl before she scurries back to her podium. Once she's out of sight, he turns on Harry so quickly, the younger boy startles back a bit. “You are so embarrassing!” He reaches across the table to slap at Harry’s arm, nearly knocking over a glass of (sparkling) water in the process.

 

“I was just having fun,” Harry mumbles back sulkily. “You know you love it.”

 

Louis smiles but tries in vain to keep it back. “Whatever,” he replies eventually, rubbing his hands up and down his legs. “What’ll you be having?”

 

Harry shrugs, it’s not like he’s had a chance to look at the menu in the thirty seconds they’ve been at the table. “I dunno.”

 

“What about to drink?” Louis presses, pushing the wine list into his hands. Harry looks down the list, not sure what any of it means. He’s always been more of a cocktail drinker; anything pink and fruity is fine with him.

 

“Do you know what any of this stuff means?” Harry reads over the description for the first wine on the list. “ _Imperial is rarely aggressive or musclebound, but it doesn't lack structure or grip. New oak never protrudes, nor the oxidation that can result from excessive barrel aging. There is ripe fruit, but it is framed by spice and mineral notes. The wine never seems too young or too old._ ” Harry looks up from the list and exhales an over-exaggerated breath. “What does this mean? I’m not fancy enough for this.”

 

Louis shrugs, his leg jiggling under the table. He shrugs again after a few seconds and takes a tentative sip of his water. “I don’t know, I guess like. I think I read online that it was good. That _Imperial_ one.”

 

Harry smiles at his boyfriend, trying to figure out what’s making him so anxious.

 

Oh god, Harry realizes with a start. It’s probably _him_. He thought that Louis was only joking when he said that he was embarrassing him, but maybe he was telling to truth, making it sound like a joke to spare Harry’s feelings. “Am I embarrassing you?” Harry asks seriously, leaning over to whisper it across the table, not wanting to alert the whole restaurant just in case he's right.

 

Louis’ head jerks up from the menu. “Of course not,” he says, just on this side of too loud. “Why would you think that?”

 

 _Well_ , Harry thinks, _you’ve said it just about twenty times since we got here_. “I don’t know,” he says aloud, not wanting to upset Louis any further with his thoughts. “You just seem upset.”

 

Louis pats Harry’s arm gently, standing up and moving his chair around the table to sit closer to his boyfriend. “I’m not embarrassed, love.”

 

Harry smiles at the older boy, leaning in to give him a quick kiss. “I love you,” Harry reminds him, as if Louis could ever forget.

 

Louis grins at him, the crinkly-eyed kind; Harry’s favorite. “I love you too. So much.”

 

Anything that Harry would have said is forgotten as their waitress finally arrives at the table. “Hi, I’m Eleanor. What can I get you gentlemen to drink tonight?”

 

Louis clears his throat. “Um, I heard the _Imperial_ wine is good?”

 

“Would you like to try it, sir?” Eleanor asks, looking back and forth between them as if she's not sure which one to look at. They are _awfully close_ under the table.

 

Louis smiles his most award-winning smile and nods pleasantly. “That would be great.”

 

The girl scurries off and returns a few moments later, two glasses and a bottle in her hands.

 

She pours a tiny bit into each glass and pushs them into their hands. “This one is a customer favorite,” she informs them.

 

Harry takes a sip into his mouth, swirling it around to get a taste for it. It’s not too bad, and he’s about to request it, but Louis speaks first.

 

“It’s very _earthy_ ,” Louis musses, rolling the wine around in his glass. “There’s a bit of an _oaky_ flavor, but I’m sensing an underlying _grassy_ tone.” He finishes off his glass and hands it back to the waitress. “We’ll take a bottle, please.”

 

Harry stares at his boyfriend, surprised. “Where did that come from?” He asks, once the waitress scampers off to grab a fresh bottle.

 

Louis shrugs. “I just started saying random words, I dunno, I guess it sounded good.” Louis grins and Harry does too, happy to see that his boy is back to his usual antics.

 

“I love you,” Harry says, because it feels like he doesn’t say it enough sometimes.

 

Louis looks at him, “I know.”

 

Their waitress returns with the wine a few minutes later, bringing an ice bucket with it to keep it chilled. Louis and Harry are too busy making out to notice her return.

 

Eventually they move apart after two (or maybe three) quiet coughs from the girl.

 

“What can I get you to eat?” She has a blush across her cheeks, as if she was the one caught snogging in a five star restaurant.

 

“What do you recommend?” Harry asks, eyes flicking over the menu that Louis' holding.

 

Eleanor perks up, clearly happy that she was in familiar territory. “I recommend the wild sea bass, it’s delicious.”

 

He scrunches up his nose at that, not one for fish. “I think that I’ll have the, um,” he closes his eyes and makes a show of moving his finger over the menu. Louis chuckles beside him. He pokes his finger down, peeking his eye open to see what he’s chosen. _Veal_. He’ll try again. “I’ll have the beef Rossini, please.”

 

Eleanor nods accepting that and looks at Louis. “I’ll have the same, please.”

 

She nods again, clasping her hands together. “I’ll put those orders right in, uh, sirs.”

 

Harry waits until she walked away to start laughing.

 

“God,” Louis moans, putting his head on Harry’s shoulder with a sigh. “You’d think that the poor girl’s never seen a gay couple before.”

 

“I feel _mean_ ,” Harry muses, reaching down to grab Louis’ hand and intertwine their fingers.

 

“We _are_ mean; it’s what makes people love us.” Harry nods as if that makes sense and raises their hands to kiss the back of Louis’.

 

~*~

 

“Don’t whore yourself out while I’m gone,” Louis warns, before he scurries off to the restroom, halfway through their meal. Harry just chuckles and watches appreciatively until his boyfriend disappears out the way they came in.

 

“Did you get lost?” Harry jokes when Louis comes back, probably ten minutes later. “You left me to fight off all the slutty waitresses all on my own.” He pouts, but brightens up when Louis sits down, moving his chair even closer than before.

 

“Aw, I’m sorry Haz, I'm sure it was rough, being all hot and having the ladies just flock to you." He smirks. "And I did get lost, did you see the size of this place?”

 

~*~

 

They finish their food, and when Eleanor comes back to get their nearly empty dishes, Louis only glares a little bit.

 

“Don’t pout dear,” Harry chastises with a smile, “it doesn’t suit your face.”

 

Louis pouts more, but his leg starts jiggling again, just as large man in a white apron emerges from what must be the kitchen. He grins at Louis, and Harry looks between the two of them, confused. “You know him?” Harry murmurs discreetly as the man approached their table.

 

“Harry Styles?” The man asks before Louis can respond, shifting his gaze from Louis to Harry as the smile on his face grows. Harry nods, his eyebrows furrowing as the chef pulls a small plate out from behind his back. On the plate sits a tiny cupcake, chocolate with some kind of pink frosting that looks absolutely delicious. “Bon appetite,” the man says, presenting the dessert with a flourish before disappearing back into the kitchen.

 

Louis looks at Harry expectantly and nods towards the cupcake. “Well go on, eat it.”

 

Harry glances at Louis as he picks up the little dessert, confused when Louis just nods at him eagerly. His leg has stopped jiggling now.

 

Harry bites into the cake uncertainly and is contemplating offering Louis a bite, when something small and round hits his teeth. He pulls back with his eyebrows furrowed. “What the-“ he turns to Louis and gapes when he sees that his boyfriend isn't in his seat.

 

He's on the floor.

 

On one knee.

 

“What are you doing, Lou?” Harry's fairly sure that he knows exactly what's happening, but his mouth hasn’t quite caught up with his brain at this point. He's breathing like he's just run six miles and  _is Louis proposing it him?_

 

Louis reaches up and pulls the ring away from Harry’s fingers, wiping it off a bit with a napkin before holding it back up.

 

“Harry,” he startes, his hands shaking a bit, “when we-“

 

“Yes,” Harry interrupts quickly, ready to put the ring on and be _Louis’_ already. “Sorry,” he mumbles after he realizes what he's said. “Um, you can- sorry. You can, like, continue.”

 

 Louis grins at him so widely, it looks like the sun has finally come out after years of rain. “I didn’t make Niall sit through me practicing this for nothing, love.”

 

He clears his throat and starts again. “When we were assigned to be roommates our entering year, I think that I hated you a little bit. I don’t know why, but it may have been your cheekiness or your inability to sit still for long periods of time.

 

“I remember hating that you got all the hot guys to buy you drinks at parties and when my sisters came to visit you let them play with your hair and they just fell in love with you on the spot.

 

“Anyway, I fell in love with you pretty fast, too. There was no ‘crush’ period for me, you know? I hated you and then I loved you, nothing in between. I kind of resented that at first because I wanted to take the time to learn to love you, but instead I've decided that I'm still learning. You do little things to make me fall even harder every day and I haven’t stopped loving you once since that night- a week after we had our first hate-sex- when we spilled everything. Not even when we broke up for a week that one time junior year over something stupid that I can’t even remember now. We’ve made it through so much over the past six years, college, finding jobs, dealing with our families and just- I don’t think that I could have made it through all of this without you.”

 

Harry wipes away the dampness on his cheeks and no, he’s not crying. He has sweaty eyes.

 

“And I love you so much and I want to keep loving you for the rest of my life, so would you please, _please_ , do me the honor of marrying me?”

 

Harry nods his head so quickly, it feels like it might just snap off, not that he cares because _he's marrying the love of his life_.

 

Louis smiles at him, slipping the silver band onto his finger with such carefulness, Harry can’t help but be endeared. The ring fits perfectly and Harry kisses his fiancé with every bit of love that he can.

 

“This is a yes, yeah?” Louis asks when he pulls back, smirking at Harry.

 

“Of course, you dick,” Harry says affectionately, pulling Louis in again by his neck, this kiss slower and deeper than before.

 

A loud clapping comes up from the table beside them, a young couple; one man with raven-colored hair, artfully styled into a quiff, ink smattering his arms and another guy with chestnut colored hair and caring eyes who looks like he might be crying a bit.

 

The applause then spreads around the dining room and Harry can have swear that they have left the real world and entered some cheesy rom-com, because everyone is smiling at them; even the man and woman that Harry had scared into giving up their table.

 

“I love you,” Louis whispers into Harry’s lips, twirling the ring around his fiancé’s finger.

 

“I love you too,” Harry whispers back, thinking that maybe this is the best night of his life.

 

~*~

 

When they get back to their apartment that night, Harry presents Louis with a ring that has been sitting in his desk drawer for a little over two weeks.

 

Louis cries and then sucks Harry off, just like he’d promised.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally inspired by the breakdown that I just had over my psychology class, but then it turned into a fluff piece because I have no control over my own characters whatsoever.
> 
> Any mistakes are my own (and considering that this was written over the course of two hours, there may be some), I don't own One Direction, blah, blah, blah.
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> -N
> 
> (Creep at me on tumblr if you'd like: [arrowinheart](http://arrowinheart.tumblr.com/))


End file.
